Control valve



Nov. 9,1943. l I w. H. GILLE 2,333,775

l I CONTROL VALVE Filed July 8. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y l ,6a v s2 isl 6' H' .q

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` Nov. 9, 1943. w H @ILLE l 2,333,775

CONTROL VALVE Filed July 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Itter-neg Patented Nov. 9, 1943 UNITED STATE CONTBOL VALVE Willis H. Gille, St. Paul, Minn., assigner to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company,'Min neapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application July 8, 1938. Serial No. 218,146

Z'Claims. (Cl. 137-453) My invention relates to automatic control of uid fuel and is more particularly concerned with diaphragm gas valves of the snap modulating type embodying certain improvements whereby the valve is made unusually ilexible in its applicability and adaptability.

Generally my object is to provide the art with an eilcient and reliable snap` modulating gas control valve of simple construction and capable of accurate control over a wide range of capacities. Another object is the provision of a diaphragm valve the capacity of which is automatically selfadjusting when additional buners are to be supf las to also act as a pressureregulator for the iluid passing therethrough.

Another object is the provisionof a diaphragm type valve having one side of the diaphragm exposed to a thermostatically controlled pressure and the opposite side exposed to outlet pressure oi the valve, the arrangement being such that a stable balanced valve is formed which maybe automatically adjusted by either the thermo statically controlled pressure or the outlet pressure.

Another object is the provision of a balanced diaphragm valve having a space above the diaphragm connected to the inlet of the valvey through a thermostatic pilot valve, the opposite side of the diaphragm being exposed to outlet pressure of the valve and which valve has a small pressure regulator in the connection-to the space above the diaphragm ahead of the pilot valve so that the upper side of the diaphragm is not exshows a preferred form of my improved valve,

load to be supplied with fuel by the valve, it will automatically and properly readjust itself to providefthe necessary capacity of iiow.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a gas valve having a diaphragm associated with the valve disc, the valve disc being adapted to seat by gravity, the diaphragm having a controlled pressure thereover for substantially balancing the weight of the valve disc member and the other side of the diaphragm being exposed to outlet pressure of the valve. v Other objects of my invention will appear and the manner in which the above objects are accomplished will become apparent as the specification proceeds, the invention residing in the improved construction,rv arrangement of parts, and combinations thereof.

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of one embodiment of my invention, showing diagrammatically the manner in which the valve may be connected ina gas iired heating system controlled by a thermostat.v

Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1 of amodlcation of my invention. n

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, which numeral I indicates the body of the valve. 'I'he inlet of the valve is shown at 2 and the outletat I. the inlet and outlet sides of the valve being separated by a. dividing member A which is cylindrically congurated so as to form a vertical cylindrical passageway through the valve. The lower part of the cylindrical portion l forms a valve seat as indicated at 5. and the cylindrical 'l portion 4 is also internallyscrew-threaded at 6 x so as to receive a screw-threadedplug 1. 'I'he plug 1 is of general cylindrical conformation havposed to fluctuations in line pressure whereby the diaphragm valve may act as a pressure regulator for the uid passing therethrough.

Another object is the provision of a diaphragm 'gas valve controlled by temperatura'the diaphragm being so arranged with respect to the outlet pressure of the valve as to automatically adjust the capacity of the valve upon greater ilow demands occasioned by adding more burners to the load beingcarried by the valve.

Another object is the-provision of a diaphragm gas valve having one side of thefdiaphragm exposed to outlet .pressure of the valve and having the other side oi.' the diaphragm exposed to pressure controlled. by a'thermostatlc device. the arrangement being such that upon a change in outlet pressure occasioned by the change in the ing ka downwardly extending skirt 8 and having a shoulder adjacent the screw-threaded portion which engages with the screw-threaded part 6 of the dividing member l. The downwardly extending skirt 8 of the plug 1 has V notches or ports as shown, or in other words, is serrated for throttling' purposes which will be described later. The' plug 1 includes webs 9 which are inbody I by screws Il, there being a ringer gasket Il of sealing material interposedbetween the y body I.

diaphragm plate and the ange of; the valve lThe upper part ofthe I of the valve comprises a circular screw-threaded portion Il with' which a member I1 forming part of a diaphragm 5 chamber engages in screw-threaded relation, as shown. A ring or gasket I oi sealing material surrounds the screw-threaded portion I0 of the body I and is engaged between the body I and the member I1 when the latter member is 10 screwed down upon the screw-threaded portion Ii.. The gasket Il. provides for a. gas-tight seal between the body I and themember I1. I'he member I1v is generally circular and is flanged, J at 20, the ilange 23 cooperating with l5 itsA peripheral portions being secured between the ilanges and 2I which are secured together 20 vby bolts 2|.

Disposed on' opposite sides ot the central portion of the diaphragm 23 are metal disc backing members 21 and 25 and extending through these disc members and through the diaphragm is the screw-threaded end of -a valve 25 stem 29. The discs 21 and 28 and the diaphragm V 23 are held together in their respective relation by nuts and 3| adjacent the discs on opposite sides of the diaphragm, as shown. The valve stem zsextends downwardly through the guide 30 bearing III, through the plug 1 and carries at its lower end a valve generally indicated at 35. The valve stem 29 also carries at a point adjacent the. V ports in the skirt 3 of plug 1 a throttling disc 38 which is held in position by nuts "and 35 38 on opposite sides of the'disc and in screwthreaded relation with the stem 29. The valve generally indicated at comprises a metal .disc 35 having an annular recess adjacent its periphery in which is received an annularly shaped 4Q outlet side o! the valve so that'outlet pressure is side oi'- the dia-- ring III of some suitable resilient material such as rubber or the like. A disc l4I of smaller diameter than the disc :s is disposedv adjacent the latter disc and its peripheral edges bear against the annular upon the' valve '33 and disc 33 tends. to pull the stem 23 `and the diaphragm downwardly. To balance the weight of the valve and stem assembly, I provide a coil spring Il which encircles the guido lo having its lower end abutting upon 'the webs 's andv having its upperend bearing against the disc backing member 2l. .The coil spring Il is of such tensile resiliency as to substantially balance the weight of the valve and stem assembly. s f

From the foregoing it is apparent that movement oi the diaphragm 23 up and down reciprocates the stem 2l and moves the disc 3l vertically with respect to the V pprts in the skirt 3 and may seat the valve indicated at 3l upon the' seat l. 05 l to bring the pressure back to normal. This oper- My invention is particularly adapted to the control oi' iiuid fuel such as gas for heating purposes or the like. For the purpose of v disclosing my invention more completely, I have shown it diagrammatically connected in a heating system controlled by a thermostat. Referring again to Figure 1, numeral Il indicates a supply Pipe which leadsto a gas supply main and which may connect to the inlet side oi' the valve. Numeralr Il indicates a pipe which maybe connected to the H 4t so as to retain it in position 45 without inte ering with its seating upon the lvalve seat 5.4 'i'hdiscs 39 and II may be held in their respective positions 'with respect to the 'valve stem 2s by nuts or the like as indicated at 42 and n. It win be. seen that gravity acting 50 to be admitting gas tothe space above the diaused with gas iired heating systems. AThe spacey above .the diaphragm 23 o! my valve is the control chamber and I communicate gas from the inlet side of the valve through'a pipe Il, a small pres/- sure regulator 4I and pipe 55 to a thermostatically controlled throttling valve 5l and thence through a pipe 5 1A to the space above the diaphragm. The

pressure regulator Il prevents iluctuations in pressure in pipe 5t from being felt in the control chamber above diaphragm 2 3. In other words, the pressure in pipe 55 is held constant by the regulator I6. The throttling valve 53 may take any suitable form of conventional type throttling valve and' is controlledvby a thermostat comprising a bulb 53 filled with a volatile uid and communicating with the throttling valve by a capillary tube 59. It will be understood that the bulb 5l is located in a region which is being supplied with heat from the burner 52 and the temperature oi' which it is desired to be controlled. In-

asmuch as the operation of thermostatically con'- trolled valvesof conventional type is well known in the art, the operation of the'valve 58 in response to the thermostat 58 need not be described i in detail. 'I'he space above the diaphragm 23 also communicates by a pipe 60 through a fixedoriilce bleed indicated at BI and a pipe 82 with an auxiliary pilot burner 63. The bleed orifice indicated at 6I is oi' such size .that gas may be admitted to the space above the diaphragm through the valve 56 faster than it can be bled oiI to the auxiliary burner 63. From the drawings, it will be apparent that the space below the diaphragm 23 within the portion I1 oi' the diaphragm chamber at all times communicates directly with the always acting upon the 'lower phragm..

Ifwill now describe the operation o f my improved control devic'e'. With the parts in thepo'sition shown, the pressures above and below the diaphragm are lbalanced and the valve 35 and disc 33 are positioned so as to permit the passage of a. certain amount of gas through the valve and to. the burner. The valve 56 is positioned so as phragm at the same rate as it is being bled oi! through the orifice 6I and thus the thermostat 53 4is satisfied and the apparatus is in a Iconditionof equilibrium. Now it is important that the lower pressure above the diaphragm being kept constant by pressure regulator 43. Should now for any reason the outlet pressure tend to iluctuate,

for example, to rise, the increased pressure willv tend'to lift the diaphragm, moving the valve disc I 33 in"a direction tending to close'the V ports..

thus slightly reducing the ilow of gas and tending -atiori corresponds to the conventional operation oi' pressure regulators and will be well understood by those skilled in the art. i

Should now there bea slight fall the4 tem# perature in the region to which thermostat Il is responsive. the. valve Il will be moved slightly-inl f-e opening direction increasing the amount of gas permitted to now into the space above the diaphragm. Thisnwill cause'the pressure to rise slightly in the space above the diaphragm because the constant bleed orice 8l does not permit 1t to be bled en. es fast as it is being admitted and the valve stem 28 will be moved downwardly so as to cause the disc 36 to uncover a greater 'area of the v ports in the skirt 8 until the presvalue for which the valve and thermostat may be An important featurev 'of .my vinvention resides.

in that should I desire to `supply more than .one burner, for example a bank of burners, from a singley valve I may do so and the valve will automatically adjust itself for the increased iow capacity necessary. For example, if I should subsequently connect a second burner to the outlet of my valve in addition to the one shown in the drawings. there `would be a suddent drop in outlet pressure in the valve. This will cause the diaphragm 23 to drop downwardly somewhat side of the diaphragm 23 will be aiected by the outlet pressure of the gas. This outlet pressure will quickly buildup and by reason of its force against thelower side of the diaphragm 23 the amount of snap movement of the valve upon opening will be limited. It will be seen. therefore, that in my valveI need provide no mechanism for the purpose of limiting the amount of its opening upon the initial snap movementfv phragm with the diaphragm in a new position it is automatically responsiveto the thermostat` for controlling the ow accordingly. It should be apparent to those skilled in the art from the.

above that I have combined a relatively large number of desirable functions which are all automatic in nature in a single control valve of` a relatively simple, reliable and compact construction and that therefore I accomplish the necessary control results in gas iired heating.

systems with a minimum of apparatus and Without the necessity of any manual adjustments for changes in load or the like.

Upon opening and closing, my valve operates with a'snap movement. For example, upon the,-

occurrence of a predetermined temperature adjacent the bulb 58 at which the valve is setto open, the pressure above the diaphragm 23 will have increased to a value `just sulcient vto move the valve 35 away from the seat 5. As soon as the seal between member 40 and the seat 5 is broken, pressure will enter within the portion 4 and will be exerted upon the valve 35,' and this additional pressure acting downwardly will'create an additional increment of force acting upon the valve 35 suiiicient to snap it downwardly from its seat in. a' manner well understood in the art.

Upon` closing, my valve operates similarly in snapping from a minimum open position to fully closed. As soon as the member 40 approaches sufficiently close to the seat 5 to substantially reduce the flow of gas therethrough, the reduction of pressure on the disc 4l will cause a sudden overbalancing'by the pressure acting on disc 39 which will snap the valve to its seat.

The amount of gas which passes through my valve when `it is in its minimum open position,

that is, lust before snapping shut may be readily adjusted by means of changing the position of the disc 36 with respect to the valve stem 29. It will be understood that when the valve 35 is in a position just prior to snapping against the seat 5, the disc 36 will be in a position with respect to the VV ports in the skirt 8 permitting the minimum amount of gasto pass through the uncovered portion of the V ports. Obviously, by loosening either of the nuts 31 or 38 and adjusting the disc 36 longitudinally with respect to the stem 29, this minimum amount of flow opening may be easily and accurately adjusted.

It is customary when employing valves of the type which I disclose vto use a pressure regulator in the conduit 5U' so that fluid fuel at a constant pressure may be supplied to .the control valve.

The purpose of4 this pressuren regulator-is, of

course, to prevent any uctuations in line pressure from exerting an undesirable control eiect upon the control valve. By reason of the small pressure regulator 46 which I use theneed of the conventional pressure regulator in pipe isobviated. Y

Referring toFigurev 2, I have shown a somewhat modified form-of my invention in which I have arranged the parts so that the valve 35 seats by gravity. All those parts of the valve of vFigure 2 which are the same as and correspond to similar partsv of Figure Larg numbered the same `and need not be described again. 'I'hose parts of the valve 2 which are diierent from but correspondto similar parts shown in Figure 1 are numbered 100 greater. It will be seen that in Figure 2 the body of the valve hasa flange l i6 which is secured to the at bottom portion of the member H1 by screws 16, there being a ring shaped gasket 1I interposed between theange I I6 and the member l I1 so as to form a gas tight seal. The iiat bottom portion of member H1 has a circular `center opening 12 through which the valve stem extends.` The valve stem has a collar 13 of larger diameter adjacent the diaphragm23 and sealed between this collar 13 and a similar collar 18 is the center portion of a smaller auxil- As soon as the'valve snaps open in this manner,

gas will `pass through the valve and the lower skirt 8 extends upwardly and the valve seat 5 engages thevalve 36 uponI a downward movement thereof. Also the valve 35 and valve disc 36 have their positions reversed on the steml29.

The stem I 29 has a longitudinal opening 'Il extending therethrough which provides for communication of gas from the outlet side of ,the valve to the space above the diaphragm 23. It will therefore be seen that in Figure 2 the pressure control chamber, that is the chamber containing the pressure controlled by the thermostat. is below the diaphragm and it is the upper side of the diaphragm which is exposed to the outlet pressure of the valve. Inasmuch as the valve -now seats in the oppOsite direction, it is obvious that the pressures on opposite sides of the dia'- phragm have the same relative eilect as far as positioning the valve is concerned as they do in the structure of Figure 1, It is pointed out that in the device of Figure 2 should vthere be a failure of the means employed for controlling the pressure underneath the diaphragm or in the event of way connecting the two, said passageway having two concentric spaced walls, the inner of which is provided with configurated ports and therouter y of which terminates at the inlet end of the passageway in a valve seat, a shut-oil valve lin said inlet chamber adapted to close against said valve seat, a tbrottling valve movable within the inner wall and throttling the ilow through the ports of said passageway, a movable diaphragm, means connecting said shut-oi! valve and said throttling valve to said diaphragm with said shut-off valve iany type of `failure of the valve actuating means,

the valve 35 will drop upon its seat due to gravity and the valve will ltherefore have failed in a safe manner inasmuch as the ilow of gas will be stopped. 'I'he operation of the valve in Figure 2 is substantially the same as the operation of the valve ofeFigure 1, the thermostatcontrolling the pressure underneath the diaphragm so as to modulate the valve in accordance with temperature. As has already been stated, the direction of closing movement of the valve has been reversed and the pressures aifecting the diaphragm have also been reversed as respects the opposite sides yoi. the diaphragm so that the vdescription of operation need not be again repeated.

From the foregoing the manifold advantages and desirable results which have been gained by my particular construction and arrangement should be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I accomplish automatic adjustment of the valve for-diii'erent ilow capacities by' a relatively simple and reliable arrangement while at the same time Providing for automatic regulation of pressure and modulating control of the flow through the valve. My device therefore embodies novel and useful features which render it widely adaptable and which enable those practicing my invention to securesatisfactory control results with a minimum of apparatus and attention by operatives.

While I have disclosed two of the preferred Vforms which my invention may take. there arey vnumerous modifications, variations and forms and said throttling valve spaced apart to provide an intermediatechamber between said shut-oi! and throttling valves, said diaphragm being subject on one side tothe pressure' in said outlet chamber and actuating said throttling valve to maintain a regulated pressure therein, and means for varying the force exerted on the opposite side of said diaphragm for adjusting thepressure maintained by said throttling valve', 'said shut-of! valve having a large area-relative to said congurated portsfso as to move Awith a snap action 4 from between closed and a minimum open position because of a change in the pressure diiferential to which it is subjected.

2. A combination pressure regulator 'and shut ofi valve comprising a valve casing having an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, and a passage'-d way connecting the two, a diaphragm sealing said outlet chamber and responsive to the pressure therein, a valve seatfat the inlet end of said passageway. throttling ports in said passageway, a main valve cooperating with said valve seat, a throttling valve movable within the passageway and cooperating with said ports. said throttling valve and ports being yso constructed and ar-y ranged that the movement of the throttling valve is substantially unaffected by ilow through lthe ports, a valve stem carried by said diaphragm, said valves being independently mounted on said stem, increase in outlet pressure causing the diaphragmto move said throttling valve to decrease the iiow through said ports whereby a regulated outlet pressure ismaintained, means'for varying the pressure on the opposite side of said diaphragm to control the said regulated pressure.

' the area of said main valve being so large with respect to said ports that it has no'throttling eiect on the ow through the Ports except when which will occur to those skilled in the art but which are intended to fall within the scope of the invention. I therefore intend that my invention shall bey limited only as 'determined by l the appended claims.

let chamber, an outlet chamber, and a passage.

it is between a fully closed and a predetermined minimumopen position between which `the valve moves with a snap action by reason of the diiferential in pressure exerted upon the opposite sides of the said main valve, and means for adjustingY said throttling valve with respect to saidv main valve` whereby the minimum position of said 

